Sawstop Table Saw

  • Last Updated on April 6, 2024

Wiki

Overview

Name: table saw
Location: Wood Working Area
Status: Operational
Training: Required
Slack Channel: #help-woodworking
Owner: denhac

Training

In person training and sign off by trainer required before members are allowed to use this tool.
denhac members must be authorized by completing a sawstop lesson from one of our trainers. Trainers are other members just like you who have been approved to teach. They are taking time to teaching you for free! Make sure to thank them! Pay it forward and try to help out around denhac.

Post in slack #help-woodworking to inquire about upcoming training. They are currently being scheduled on an as needed basis. You are responsible for your safety, safety of others, and safety of our tools. The sawstop table saw has a built in safety system to reduce injury in the case of an accident. If you trip the emergency brake and have the financial means we ask that you pay for a replacement brake cartridge and blade. Report any activation of the safety system in Slack #help-woodworking. Only denhac sawstop trainers can replace the brake if it goes off or do maintenance.

denhac Instructor Training Checklist:

  • Review denhac general shop safety rules.
  • Table saws – what they’re good at. What they’re not.
  • Sawstop – Show set off tripped brake.
    • Cover Allowed materials.
    • Show how to test material conductivity with saw. Explain that this will only show when it is certainly unsafe, but may err on the wrong side. E.g. it may not flag wood that is wet inside but the outside is dry enough to be non-conductive.
    • Bypass mode is not allowed at denhac for safety concerns. Ask other members for recommended alternative tools if you have a non allowed materials
    • If you trip the saw stop break, please self-report to the #help-woodworking channel.
      • There is no punishment for tripping the brake and we want to promote a culture of discussing safety concerns for improving training and tool use
      • You will need to replace the brake ~$99 and the blade ~$40.
  • Basics of ripcuts vs cross cuts.
    • Fence for rip cuts
    • Sled/miter for cross.
  • Set fence OR sleds/miter.
    • NEVER USE BOTH.
    • Never freehand.
  • Cover everything in Operation section
  • Instructor and trainee walkthrough and demonstration for a rip & cross with sled.
  • Trainee to demonstrate rip cut and cross cut (first saw off for technique pointers & then with it on)
  • Don’t perform maintenance yourself.
    • How to communicate maintenance or accidents.
  • Complex cuts, angles / bevel = do your research before attempting.
  • Review general table saw safety poster, allowed materials, questions.
  • Trainer authorizes using slack command /membership > Equipment Authorization.
  • We teach the basics of operation for this tool. Woodworking lessons at external organizations such as Rockler. Denver Tool Library, Red Rocks community college, as well as woodworking and safety research on your own is encouraged. Always be thinking about and improving on safety!

Operation

Be familiar with and abide by the woodshop rules.

Safety

  • Don’t stand in line with the blade. Kickback injuries can be serious or fatal. Be aware of who and what is behind the blade and keep your body out of this area in case kickback does occur. Video demonstration of kickback dangers: https://youtu.be/u7sRrC2Jpp4?t=160
  • You must use a crosscut sled for small items
  • Never use fence + miter gauge / sled at the same time
  • Use push stick on small pieces – keep fingers out of the red zone.
  • Unplug before blade or equipment adjustments
  • Wait until blade is at complete stop before reaching over to collect wood
  • Don’t cut too close to the fence

Setup

  • Check your material – ONLY wood is allowed.
  • Red blinking light = will 100% trigger brake.
  • Materials that will trigger the safety:
    • Painted wood, Wet/green wood, wet glue, some pressure treated lumber.
    • Reclaimed wood with nails/metal,
    • Laser cut or burned wood (carbon)
    • Any material with metal incorporated into it
    • Beware of staples, lumber from big box stores often has tags stapled to the end or a leftover staple where a tag was.
  • Clear and clean work area before cutting. Keep tools (especially conductive ones!) out of the path of the cut.
  • Turn on dust collection system (Check to make sure it’s not full!)
  • Set your blade height ~⅛” above your material.
  • Rip cut vs Cross cut. Set fence OR sleds/miter. NEVER USE BOTH
  • Set your stance. Avoid kickback zone (right of blade).
  • Finger position check & planning. Need push sticks?

Usage

  1. Clear material from red zone. Start saw.
  2. Push all the way though. One smooth motion. Avoid excessive force, let the blade do the work. Maintain 3 points of force:
    1. Down to the table
    2. Towards the fence
    3. Through the blade.
  3. Wait for the blade to fully stop before removing wood.

Monitoring

Don’t pull wood back through. If you stall too long during the cut blade friction can cause char on your wood triggering the safety stop.

Shutdown & Cleanup

  • Power switch off.
  • Lower the blade back into the cabinet. Reset blade/guard/riving knife and return blade to vertical if it has been adjusted.
  • Clean up sawdust and scraps – important to keep clean while you’re working too!
  • Check the dust collection! If you use the wood tools it’s your responsibility to check and take out the dust. Empty dust collection to dumpster in the side alley.
  • Volunteer a few extra few min. to improve or clean the space.

Accessories

Cross cut sled, feather boards, other jigs kept under the outfeed table. Dado blade requires a different brake cartridge!

Shop-maintained Blades

The woodworking sig is in charge of maintaining the following saw blades:

  • Our standard blade is a 50 tooth combination blade from Diablo, sold by home depot for around $40.
  • We also have an 8″ dado set. This blade requires a different brake cartridge!

If you feel that these blades are dull or otherwise in need of attention, please post in #help-woodworking. We typically keep a spare of our standard blade and brake cartridge on hand, but you must get permission from a maintainer before replacing the blade.

Other Blades

Some members have donated other types of blades, which live on the wall to the left of the table saw. These are available for use, but denhac does not maintain/replace these blades. You are also welcome to bring your own blade if you need something specific.

If you change the blade, always change it back to the 50T combination blade when you are finished.

Brake Cartridges

10″ blades require a TSBC-10R3 brake cartridge. This cartridge can be ordered from suppliers including Home Depot and Rockler for around $99, but is generally not available in store for same-day pickup. Because of this leadtime, denhac tries to keep a spare on hand in our maintainers’ supply. In the event that you trip the brake, we will use our spare to get the saw working again, but you will be responsible for ordering us a replacement cartridge and blade.

The 8″ dado stack requires a different cartridge, TSDC-8R3. We keep one of these with the dado blade and the wide throat plate.

Materials

Only cut wood on the table saw. Acrylic has been done for special circumstances but requires a different blade. Never cut metal. Bypass (safety disabled) mode not allowed.

Resources

Specifications

Nametable saw
ManufacturerSaw Stop
Year Released
Model3HP Pro
Serial No.
SoftwareNone
Other

History

This section is for noteworthy events such as:

  • Purchased new from Rockler in 2020 by board vote using denhac’s funds.
  • Triggered day 1 by someone who was excited about the new saw and tried cutting mirrored acrylic. Safety key then got lost and we had to wait weeks for a replacement. Training requirements put in place. Trigged by burnt wood on slow cut. Triggered when metal jig hit blade.
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